Imperium

Chapter 3: Within These Arms

She slightly angles her head to look over at him. "How's the weather looking now?" she asks as she starts grabbing her clothes just to have them closer to her as she dries herself off.

He's glad she's making conversation, otherwise they would be sitting here in complete awkward silence until the owner of the motel comes to kick them out. "The storm's cleared up. It's a bit warmer out, so the walk shouldn't be too bad so long as we get to the apartment before sunset," he says and tries to sound collected as though he's not battling a million different emotions with about a sliver of clear thoughts.

Edith glances over at the window to see the blue sky spotted with a few clouds. She gets up, keeping herself covered with the towel, and she walks over to the window beside Colin's bed to pull the curtains shut.

Now that she's closer, he can see how she looks a bit less pale and the dark circles under her eyes have faded a little. She's still a bit shaky, but it could be that she's just cold from her shower. However, he can't help but worry that it's more than that.

He clears his throat as he slowly stands up. "How... are you feeling?"

Edith hadn't realized that she didn't let go of the curtains and has just been holding them shut with her back turned to him. "A little better... I took a short nap after you left and I think that helped my EPC recover a bit more. I'm feeling less numb, so that's a plus..." she says, ending in a weak chuckle.

She jumps a bit as he's suddenly standing over her shoulder and watching her closely. She glances up at him but keeps her back turned and her grip on the curtains slightly tightens.

Colin slowly nods. He tries to keep his eyes on hers, but he can't help but throw occasional glances to her stomach which is still covered by the towel. He meets her eyes again. "Good... and how are you feeling... otherwise?" he asks, making sure to choose his words carefully.

Edith looks away from him and lets go of the curtains to rest her hand on her stomach. "I'm..." she takes a deep breath, "Feeling better. I think the shower helped with the fever... same with the food," she says and clears her throat. "Anyway, you said that we need to start walking before sunset, so just let me get dressed then we can go." Before he's given a chance to say anything else, she turns around and steps around him to return to her bed and grab her clothes.

Colin lets out a defeated sigh. "Okay... You get dressed and I'll wait outside. Just come out when you're ready to go," he says and walks over to the door and grabs his coat. He looks back at her as she turns her back and doesn't even spare him a glance. He nods and pulls the door open to step out.

He softly shuts it behind him and stands patiently as he waits for her to open it.

They walk down the sidewalk in silence, following the directions from Colin as he somehow seems to know exactly where to go, despite the fact that he's never been in Eutria before. The power of having a supercomputer for a mind, Edith supposes.

As they walk, Edith can feel the eyes on her but she tries to ignore it and just focus on making it to the apartment before it gets dark. But once the sensation of being watched gets too overwhelming, she glances over just in time to see Colin quickly look away.

She slightly frowns as she studies him, and she sees that he's fighting a smile as he now keeps his eyes on the sidewalk and fidgets anxiously. "What?" she asks with a hint of irritation.

Colin clears his throat and shakes his head, and Edith can see how he's fighting to not let his excitement show, and it deepens her frown. Colin waves her off without looking at her. "It's... It's nothing."